July 13th, 2014 - Navigating The Webs And Chains In The State Pen

 

 

 

Hello friends!  The Meista here with another rockin' pairing for you today and this one goes out to our friend June!  Today I'm pairing a rather rare "Webs 'N Chains" cassette tape by '80s rockers Tantrum from Sacramento, California and a State Penn Porter from Santa Fe Brewing Company!  Cheers June!!  (Sorry it took so long to put this pairing together!)

The music industry (especially the industry in terms of the metal scene in the 1980s) can be a very strange and fickle beast.  This is most evident when you come across the talents of a band like Tantrum, a band with originality and chops, and yet was never signed.  Meanwhile, all sorts of talentless shit was being shoved down our throats by MTV and corporate radio at the time.  At least now with downloadable music sites galore, the music of Tantrum is accessible and lives on!  Their songs are edgy, aggressive, guitar-driven, and melodic.  Songs like "Gunslinger", "Lost In Tonight", "Webs 'N Chains", "Dead End Street", and "Tell Me Lies" are every bit as good (if not better) than their contemporaries!  Tantrum was June Biancalana on guitars, Kate French on vocals, Nina Martin on drums, Lisa Mathena on guitars, and Marissa Thacker on bass.  Check out Tantrum's "Webs 'N Chains" here: http://www.amazon.com/Webs-n-Chains-tantrum/dp/B002POHXGI!  If you dig Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and Dokken, you will LOVE Tantrum!!

Santa Fe Brewing Company's State Penn Porter is a dark ale that is very much like "Webs 'N Chains"... flavorful and gripping!  It pours a deep mahogany with a very thin off-white head.  The nose is earthy and rich.  Big aromas of coffee beans, dark chocolate, soil, and roasted malts abound.  Medium bodied with fairly low carbonation, the mouthfeel is smooth and velvety.  The flavor, like the nose is rich and chocolaty.  There are big notes of fresh cocoa, dark roasted coffee, hazelnut, walnut, vanilla, and just a hint of bourbon.  The finish has a subtle bitter bite and those chocolate notes linger. The State Penn Porter is a very good example of the style and a great, drinkable beer that goes great with the rockin' tunes of Tantrum!

Cheers rockers, rollers, and ale lovers!!